Names in the news, Nov. 21

From wire reports •November 20, 2011 7:34 pm

Film star Mila Kunis has made good on her promise to a Marine who had been serving in Afghanistan. Kunis and Marine Sgt. Scott Moore attended the annual Marine Corps Ball on Friday in Greenville, N.C. The annual event marks the founding of the Marines in 1775. Back in July, the data systems technician asked Kunis to be his date for the ball in a YouTube video. He was deployed to Afghanistan at the time. Kunis accepted his invitation soon after the video was posted. The actress’ appearance came just days after “Friends With Benefits” co-star Justin Timberlake attended a Marine Corps Ball with Cpl. Kelsey De Santis in Richmond, Va. … The son of actress and activist Mia Farrow and director Woody Allen has been chosen as a Rhodes Scholar. Ronan Farrow is among 32 American students who will be awarded scholarships to study at Oxford University. It’s not the first academic distinction for Farrow, who is a special adviser to the secretary of state for global youth issues. He had started college as a child, graduating from Bard College in 2004 when he was 15. He started Yale Law School when he was 17 and graduated in 2009. The awards announced early Sunday provide all expenses for two or three years of study at the prestigious university in England. The winners were selected from 830 applicants endorsed by 299 different colleges and universities. The scholars will enter Oxford next October. The value of the scholarships averages about $50,000 per year. Rhodes Scholarships were created in 1902 by the will of British philanthropist Cecil Rhodes. Winners are selected on the basis of high academic achievement, personal integrity, leadership potential and physical vigor, among other attributes. The American students will join an international group of scholars selected from 14 other jurisdictions around the world. Approximately 80 scholars are selected each year.